Team
Seppe De Schepper
Group leader
Sebastiaan De Schepper is a Group Leader at the VIB Center for Molecular Neurology, where his lab explores the intersection of neuroimmunology and neurodegeneration with a particular focus on the gut-brain axis. He joined VIB in 2025 following a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Wellcome Trust and UCL, where he investigated how neuroimmune interactions in the enteric nervous system contribute to diseases like Parkinson’s. His earlier work at UCL and A*STAR (Singapore) focused on immune signaling in the brain and microglial biology. Sebastiaan holds a PhD in Immunology and a Master’s in Biomedical Sciences from KU Leuven. His research aims to unravel how immune and nervous systems interact across body systems, with the goal of identifying new therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases.
Andriana Lygeraki
PhD student
Andriana earned her BSc in Biology and MSc in Molecular Biology and Biomedicine at the University of Crete, Greece. During her master's thesis, she investigated the mechanisms implicated in myelin regeneration and explored novel strategies to enhance myelin repair. To further engage with the mechanisms modulating cellular crosstalk, she joined laboratories in Germany (IDN JGU Mainz, DZNE Munich), where she studied the role of extracellular vesicles and the interplay of glial cells in neurodegeneration. Currently, Andriana is working towards her PhD in Neuroimmunology in the De Schepper lab, where she aim to unravel the contribution of the intestinal immune system in Parkinson's disease.
Outside the lab, you will most probably find her reading, coloring or enjoying the outdoors.
Alanna Spiteri
Postdoc
Alanna completed her PhD at the University of Sydney in 2022, supported by a Research Training Program stipend and a Supplementary Merit Award Scholarship, following the award of Honours Class I and the University Medal. She has expertise in flow and spectral cytometry, single-cell RNA sequencing, high-dimensional data analysis, imaging mass cytometry, virus plaque assays and qPCR. Her PhD and postdoctoral research, under Honorary Professor Nicholas King, explored the role of microglia and peripheral myeloid cells in severe neuroinflammation, as seen in West Nile virus encephalitis. As a postdoctoral research fellow in the Neurodegeneration and Neuropathology Group at the Florey Institute, University of Melbourne, she applied bioinformatics to analyse proteomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic data, identifying biomarkers and therapeutic targets for neurodegeneration.
Currently, she is working under Dr De Schepper exploring the gut-brain axis in neurodegeneration.
Ruben Hellemans
Lab technician
Ruben graduated cum laude in 2022 with a Bachelor's degree in Pharmaceutical and Biological Laboratory Technology from the University of Antwerp of Applied Sciences and Arts. He joined the Laboratory for Membrane Trafficking led by Prof. Wim Annaert at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease, where he supported PhD students and postdocs in their research.
In February 2025, I embarked on a new chapter at the De Schepper lab at the VIB-UAntwerp Center for Molecular Neurology, where he is helping to establish the lab and kickstart exciting new research!
On a personal level, Ruben enjoys long walks, running, dining out, football, and "spending time in the most beautiful city in Belgium – Antwerp!"
Wen Peng
Postdoc
Wen completed her Master's degree at Sun Yat-sen University in China, and moved to Belgium in 2020 to pursue a PhD in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Liège, under the supervision of Dr. Thomas Marichal. Her doctoral research focused on investigating niche signaling in lung interstitial macrophages. Using transgenic mouse models, single-cell RNA sequencing, and flow cytometry, she identified a novel interaction between interstitial macrophages and endothelial cells that plays a key role in regulating lung homeostasis. At the De Schepper lab, Wen will study the role of tissue-resident macrophages in Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies.
Outside of the lab, Wen loves her dog and cat, enjoys baking, crocheting, puzzles, photography, and traveling.
Carli Koster
Postdoc
Carli obtained her BSc and MSc in Life Science & Technology from Delft University of Technology and Leiden University, graduating cum laude. During her studies she completed internship focussing on chemical and cancer immunology, as well as bioinformatics.
She completed her PhD at the University of Groningen in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology. Her research focused on neuroimmune communication in asthma, specifically investigating the role of mast cell–sensory neuron interactions in neuroplasticity. Using human pluripotent stem cell-derived sensory neurons and organ-on-a-chip co-culture models, she investigated how neuroimmune communication influences immune cell activity and contributes to inflammatory processes in the airways.
Carli recently joined the De Schepper lab at the VIB–University of Antwerp Center for Molecular Neurology as a postdoctoral researcher. Her work focuses on establishing next-generation humanised and engraftment models to study peripheral neuroimmune mechanisms driving Parkinson’s disease.
Outside the lab, she enjoys running, playing tennis, ice skating, playing the guitar and reading.
Viktoras Konstantellos
PhD student
Viktoras completed his bachelor’s and master’s degree in Cell Biology at University College London. Following his degree he worked as a Research Assistant at UK Dementia Research Institute-UCL and Imperial College London to study macrophages in the gut-brain axis and liver macrophages in acute and chronic liver failure respectively. He is now a PhD student in the De Schepper Lab, working on brain borders and olfactory dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease.
When he is not in the lab, he is probably drinking a beer in the sun.
Natalia Aleksandrova
PhD student
Natalia obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences at Korea University, then moved to Germany to pursue a Master’s degree in Neuroscience at the University of Göttingen. She is now a PhD researcher at VIB-UAntwerp Center for Molecular Neurology in Antwerp, studying the role of the gut-brain axis in neuroinflammation and neurodegenerative disease. Her project focuses on how food allergy-induced immune responses influence brain function and contribute to Alzheimer’s disease pathology, with a particular emphasis on microglial activation and neuroimmune communication. Her research interests lie at the intersection of the gut-brain axis, neuroinflammation, and neuroimmunology.
Cansu Akkaya
Expert Staff Scientist
Cansu completed her PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Koç University in 2020, where she studied neuronal migration and differentiation. She subsequently worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research and KU Leuven, expanding her expertise from astrocyte biology and neural circuits into neuroimmunology and glial culture systems. She later joined Prof. Alexandre Denadai-Souza’s lab as Senior Research Associate, further specialising in flow cytometry, gut immunology, and single-cell immune profiling. Cansu recently joined the De Schepper lab as a Flow Cytometry Specialist, where she develops and optimises spectral flow cytometry workflows, supports immune profiling of murine and human samples, and trains researchers across projects focused on the gut–brain axis and neurodegeneration.
Outside the lab, Cansu enjoys dancing, pilates, puzzles, and building LEGO sets.